Abdullah Abu Sayeed is a writer, television presenter, organizer and activist from Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

.

Born in 1939 in Calcutta, Sayeed was a professor of Bengali language

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

 in Dhaka College

Dhaka College

, located in Dhaka, is one of Bangladesh's earliest and most prestigious higher educational institutions. It offers both four years bachelor's and one years masters course in various majors, but it is best known for HSC...

 for many years. In mid 70's he started presenting Shaptabarna, a multidimensional TV programme in Bangladesh Television

Bangladesh Television

Bangladesh Television , also known by the acronym BTV, is the state-owned Television network in Bangladesh. It started broadcasting as Pakistan Television in what was then East Pakistan on 25 December 1964. It was renamed Bangladesh Television after the independence in 1971. Broadcasts in full...

, which attained popularity specially among the young viewers. In 1975, he founded the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra

Bishwa Sahitya Kendra

Bishwa Sahitya Kendra , is a non-profit institution in Bangladesh to promote reading habits, enlightenment and progressive ideas among students and general public. Popularly known as just Kendro, this institution was established by famous writer, television presenter, organizer, and activist...

 or World Literature Centre to promote the study of literature. It remains one of the most important cultural institutions in the nation.

Sayeed was given the 97th Ramon Magsaysay Award

Ramon Magsaysay Award

The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...

in Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts for "... cultivating in the youth of Bangladesh a love for literature and its humanizing values through exposure to the great books of Bengal and the world."

External links

• An Interview with Sayeed Summary of CNN interview in November 2004
• CITATION for Abdullah Abu Sayeed; The 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts
• Daily Star article on Abdullah Abu Sayeed